Tuesday, May 03, 2011

It's the 2011 Giro d'Italia, Baby!

Tour, Schmour--it's time for the fabulous Giro d'Italia, baby, and the Corsa Rosa kicks off on Saturday! So, without further ado, here's yer Official Racejunkie Quickie Preview of the Bow Before the Giro d'Italia, Beeyotches:

The Course: 21 stages o' leg-rippin' misery, starting with a flat, 19k team time trial, tossin' in a couple of flat stages before Cav starts crying, then baby, it's 'most all uphill from there. In theory: 7 sprints, 4 rollers, 6 high mountains with 6 summit finishes, and one mountain time trial. In reality: if you can't climb, you're !@#$ed. And if you *can* climb, honey, by the end of the thing, you'll damn well wish you hadn't. Forza, baby--you guys are gonna need it!

Stages to Watch: to me, the Giro is all about the mountains, so watch the strong barely survive and the weak give up the GC ghost on the trio of rides up the Dolomites in stages 13-15, including, apparently, a hard-core BMX ride and a relaxing death-drop off the Crostis on which the seemingly litigation-wary race organizers are thoughtfully pitching some safety nets. Boy, does that make *me* feel better--the riders, maybe not so much!

And Last But Not Least: finally, as a thank you to both my faithful readers for realizing how supremely more bitchin' the Giro is than the Tour, we'll be running the annual Racejunkie Win Free Stuff contest every week during the Giro this year--thrills for all, and cool free stuff for the victors!

About Me

Why do I love pro cycling? Because it's a chess game at 50 kilometers an hour. Because the last broken man in the peloton makes the best athlete from every other sport look like a 98-pound weakling. Because the women do it without multimillion-euro contracts, tv coverage, podium babes or homage. Because they can climb like they're being lifted by angels and descend like they're being pursued by devils. Because the tifosi will freeze on a mountaintop for six hours just to hand them newspapers to protect them on the downhill. Because a sprint is the cork shooting out of the champagne bottle. Because the exquisite reach of a time trial position is suffering and beauty personified. Because it gives the perfect sense of power and movement to those who can never achieve either. Because I must.
Come and see.